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Abstract: Objective: To investigate the influence of lead exposure on the immune function of lymphocytes and erythrocytes in preschool children. Materials and methods: A group of 217 children three to six years of age from a rural area were given a thorough physical examination and the concentration of lead in blood samples taken from each subject was determined. The indices of lymphocyte immunity (CD⁺₃CD⁺₄, CD⁺₃CD⁺₈, CD⁺₄CD⁺₈, CD^-₃CD⁺₁₉) and erythrocyte immunity (RBC-C3b, RBC-IC, RFER, RFIR, CD35 and its average fluorescence intensity) of 40 children with blood lead levels above 0.483 μmol/L were measured and compared with a control group. Results: The blood lead levels of the 217 children ranged from 0.11 μmol/L to 2.11 μmol/L. The CD⁺₃CD⁺₄and CD⁺₄CD⁺₈ cells were lower (P<0.01) and the CD⁺₃CD⁺₈ cells were higher in the lead-poisoned subjects than those in the control group (P<0.05). CD⁺₈ and CD^-₃CD⁺₁₉ did not show significant differences. Although the RBC-C₃b rosette forming rate was lower and the RBC-IC rosette forming rate was higher in the lead-poisoned group, this difference could not be shown to be statistically significant (P>0.05). RFIR was found to be lower in the lead-poisoned group (P<0.01). Compared with the control group, the positive rate of CD₃₅ was not found to be significantly different in a group of 25 lead-poisoned children (P>0.05), while the average fluorescence intensity was lower in the lead-poisoned group (P<0.05). Conclusion: lead exposure can result in impaired immune function of T lymphocytes and erythrocytes in preschool children.

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